A gentleman named Dave W. posted the ad below from the summer of 1981 on Facebook, documenting then-impending gigs at the Ritz on East 11th Street. I found it so notable I thought I’d share it here.
I’ve spoken about the Ritz here almost as much as I’ve discussed similarly since-shuttered venues like CBGB. Suffice to say, it was just a club unlike any other, and my memories of seeing shows on that particular stage (now Webster Hall, of course) feel more visceral than any others. As is evidenced in the ad below, there was almost always something awesome happening there.
I wouldn’t darken the Ritz’s doors until a few short years after this ad went to print, but I assure you that it remained THE spot until it decamped to midtown at the former site of Studio 54 (although I saw some great shows there, too). If I’m not mistaken, the very last show I attended before the 11th Street Ritz closed was The Mission in February of 1988. I actually flew home from goddamn college in the midwest to attend that gig, like the dutiful goth I was.
Anyway, check out the amazing line-up from summer 1981
A little taste of that month...
More about the ol’ 11th Street Ritz...
Before the Ritz
Ritz Redux
Slaytanic Fits at the Ritz in `86
Laugh Riot: Pil at the Ritz in 1981: I Wasn’t There
Which Way to the Rock Hotel?
Rotten on the Stoop
Men … or Metromen?
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